Social attention hypothesis in Autism

The Social attention hypothesis in Autism suggests that autistic children prefer to focus on objects or non-social stimuli rather than people or social stimuli [1,2]. Related is the social motivation hypothesis, which says that normal children have characteristics of “social orienting”, “social reward” and “social maintaining”, which may be absent in autistic children.

Research studies used applications on a portable computer interface to show moving objects with geometric patterns versus films of young adults or dog faces. When given the choice between the non social objects versus social cues of dog faces or adult faces, the autistic children chose non social stimuli. The studies concluded that this heightened interest in non social stimuli may result in impaired social development, which is a hallmark of autism [2].

Another study showed that the attention disengagement due to seeking behaviors can lead to cascading effects that impaired social communication [3]. Autistic children showed high sensory seeking behaviors by 20-24 months. The authors followed up with these children to up to 3-5 years of age and showed that these children have severe social symptoms.

Hyporesponsiveness to both social and non-social stimuli has been shown to lead to joint attention dysfunction in autism [4]. A growing child exhibits sensory orienting while developing and by 4-5 months of age can focus on novel stimuli within their attention field. Deficits in gaze shifting and ability to focus on stimuli can be seen in autism.

Both normal and autistic kids have been shown to respond similarly to non social cues whereas autistic kids showed significant impairment in recognizing faces, leading to a deficit in social learning [5]. The study emphasizes on the deficit in value learning of faces in autism spectrum disorder.

Studies have used eye-tracking to measure the reward for social signals in autistic and non-autistic toddlers [6]. The study showed that even in autistic toddlers, social signals are important, however the extent to which these toddlers may engage with social signals may vary compared to non-autistic toddlers.

Taken together, several research studies have shown deficits in social attention in autistic toddlers which may lead to impaired social communication, which is a hallmark of autism.

At Jewel Autism and Child Development Centre, we use a multi-specialty approach to provide therapy to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. We are the largest team of professionals for Autism therapy in India and we also have a branch in Dubai, UAE.

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References:

1.      Akin-Bulbul, I., Ozdemir, S. Evaluation of the Social Attention Hypothesis: Do Children with Autism Prefer to See Objects Rather than People?. J Autism Dev Disord (2024).

2.      Gale CM, Eikeseth S, Klintwall L. Children with Autism show Atypical Preference for Non-social Stimuli. Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 17;9(1):10355.

3.      Baranek GT, Woynaroski TG, Nowell S, Turner-Brown L, DuBay M, Crais ER, Watson LR. Cascading effects of attention disengagement and sensory seeking on social symptoms in a community sample of infants at-risk for a future diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2018 Jan;29:30-40.

4.      Baranek GT, Watson LR, Boyd BA, Poe MD, David FJ, McGuire L. Hyporesponsiveness to social and nonsocial sensory stimuli in children with autism, children with developmental delays, and typically developing children. Dev Psychopathol. 2013 May;25(2):307-20.

5.      Wang Q, DiNicola L, Heymann P, Hampson M, Chawarska K. Impaired Value Learning for Faces in Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018 Jan;57(1):33-40.

6.      Vernetti A, Senju A, Charman T, Johnson MH, Gliga T; BASIS Team. Simulating interaction: Using gaze-contingent eye-tracking to measure the reward value of social signals in toddlers with and without autism. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2018 Jan;29:21-29.